How Do You Pronounce That?

I've lived in several places during my life. It seems every locale has a town or two that has a strange pronunciation. 

I lived in South Georgia for several years. There is a town close to the Georgia-Florida line named Cairo. Even though it is named after the capital of Egypt, it is not pronounced the same. The Georgia Cairo is pronounced kay-row, like Karo syrup. in fact, the local high school nickname is the Syrupmakers. 

Since moving to Texas, I have discovered numerous towns with what most people would consider either mispronounced or misspelled names. It's a big state with lots of counties, cities, and towns. Here are a few of them. 

• Italy, TX - pronounced It-lee. Only two syllables.
• Montague, TX - a county and a town, both pronounced mon-tag (long A). Again, only two syllables.
• Waxahachie, TX - pronounced WOK-sə-HATCH-ee. There is no wax in Waxahachie.
• Hico, TX - is pronounced with a long I. High-co. 
• Gruene, TX - is pronounced green.
• Boerne, TX - is pronounced burn-ee.
• Palestine, TX - is pronounced Pal-e-steen.

I'm sure there are other pronunciation anomalies in Texas. Spanish pronunciation doesn't count. This is not the only state with mispronounced names. I have mostly lived in the southeast so those towns are what I am familiar with. 

I welcome your comments and contributions. Like surnames, there is no one correct pronunciation. 

wjh